Basketball Game Preview: Central Lake Trojans vs. Grand Traverse Academy Mustangs

The Central Lake Trojans will square off against the Grand Traverse Academy Mustangs at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Central Lake is coming into the matchup on a three-game losing streak.

Central Lake came up into this matchup off a tough 24-point loss on Tuesday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Bellaire by a score of 38-35 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Grand Traverse Academy got the win against Traverse City Christian on Thursday by a conclusive 43-19. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 21 points or more this season.

Central Lake better keep an eye on Megan Pavwoski. She was instrumental in Grand Traverse Academy's win, dropping a double-double on 16 points and ten blocks. Those ten blocks gave Pavwoski a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Piper Shumar, who went 6 of 13 en route to 12 points.

Grand Traverse Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in eight consecutive games.

Grand Traverse Academy is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.3 points over those games. As for Central Lake, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-9.

Central Lake might still be hurting after the 51-31 loss they got from Grand Traverse Academy when the teams last played back in December of 2023. Will Central Lake have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.